Walter firman



(No Model.)

W. PIRMAN.

LAST.

No. 594,174. Patented N0v. 23, 1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT QEEIQE.

WALTER FIRMAN, OF RUSI-IDEN, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN CAVE &

SONS, OF SAME PLACE.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,174, dated November23, 1897.

Application filed November 14, 1896. Serial No. 612,042. (No model.)Patented in England April 11, 1896, No. 7,680.

To (LZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER FIRMAN, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Rushden, in the'county of Northampton, England,have invented new and useful Improvements in Lasts, (for which I haveobtained Letters Patent of Great Britain, No. 7,680, dated April 11,1896,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to lasts for use in the manufacture of boots andshoes; and it consists in the novel construction whereby the removal orintroduction of the last is facilitated.

A last constructed according to the said invention is divided at therear of the waist of the last on a line at or substantially at rightangles to the sole of the last. The detached heel portion is connectedto the main portion of the last by means of a hinge the movement ofwhich in one direction is limited .to insure that the heel shall notmove beyond the proper position, and which has attached to or formed inone piece with it a socket for fitting onto the last jack or support. Aportion of the heel part of the last is cut away to permit of its beingturned in toward the main part of the last, and a wedge or equivalentdevice is provided for holding the heel portion in its working or normalposition.

To enable the said invention to be fully understood, it is describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a last constructed according to the invention. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the rear part of the same, and Fig. 3 is an under side viewof the said part. Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4 4, Fig. 2; and Fig.5 is a side view of the part shown in Fig. 1, with the wedge removed.Fig. 6 is a side view of the retaining-wedge detached. Fig. 7 is a rearview of the same, and Fig. 8 is a front view. Fig. 9 is a view similarto Fig. 5, but showing the heel-piece turned against the main part ofthe last.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar or corresponding parts inthe several figures.

a is the fore part of the last, and b is the heel part.

c is the hinge for connecting the two parts a I) together.

cl is the socket for the jack or support, which socket is formed upon orattached to the hinge, and d is the device for retaining the said partsin position for use.

In the arrangement of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 9 the hinge c isarranged upon the surface of the last, and the dents of the hingethrough which the knuckle-pin passes are made square, as shown at 6,Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 9, so as to prevent the leaves of the hinge frommoving beyond the position in which the two parts of the last are intheir proper relative positions for use. In this arrangement also thedevice d for retaining the two parts a b of the last in their properposition for work is in the form of a wedge having on one face aguide-rib f, designed to enter a corresponding groove 9 in the heelpart, and on the other face a spring-catch h, which when the wedge is inposition engages with a recess 1' in the fore part a of the last, asclearly shown in Fig. 4.. The said wedge is also represented as providedon one face with a metal plate j, Figs. 6 and 8, which is bent up at oneend to form an eye 75 for the attachment of a hook or the like forpulling out the wedge. It will be understood that after the wedge hasbeen pulled out the heel part of the last can be turned down against thefore part, as shown in Fig. 9.

The socket d, which fits onto thetop of the V last-support, is, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4, in the form of a round tube, which is fixed to theleaf of the hinge attached to the fore part a of the last and insertedin a correspondinglyshaped hole formed in the said fore part, as will beclearly understood by reference to Fig. 4.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is-- 1. In a last the combination with the toe and heelparts hinged together and having a tapering recess between them, one ofsaid parts being provided with a guiding-recess, of a wedge-pieceadapted to engage said tapering recess and provided with a guide forengaging said guiding-recess and a locking device for said wedge,substantially as described.

2. In a last the combination with the toe and heel parts hinged togetherand having a tapering recess between them, of a Wedge-block adapted toengage said recess, provided with a guiding device, and a springlocking-plate having a part adapted to enter a locking-recess in one ofsaid heel and toe parts, substantially as described.

3. In a last, the combination with the heel and toe parts hingedtogether and forming a tapering recess between them, of thelockingwedge, provided with a spring-plate on one side, said platehaving a projecting portion adapted to enter a recess in one of theparts of the last, and having a portion extending above the top of thelast to assist in Withdrawing the Wedge, substantially as described.

4. In a last the combination with the heel and toe parts, of a hinge foruniting the same adjacent to the bottom, one of the hinge members beingprovided with a socket extending through the part to which it isattached to the top of the last, the 1ocking-wedge having a guideadapted to engage one of said hinge parts and a spring locking-platehaving a portion for engaging a locking-recess in the other part, and aprojecting portion to assist in removing said Wedge, substantially asdescribed.

- XVALTER FIRMAN. Witnesses:

A. ALBUTT, F. W. PRICE.

